Google Adds Agentic Features to AI-Powered Search

Google is bringing more advanced agentic artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to its search tool.

These capabilities, announced Thursday (Aug. 21) are rolling out with restaurant reservations, with plans to expand them to local service appointments and event tickets in partnership with companies like OpenTable, Ticketmaster, StubHub, and SeatGeek.

“For example, you can now ask about getting a dinner reservation with friends that includes multiple constraints and preferences — like party size, date, time, location and preferred cuisine — and AI Mode will streamline this process,” the tech giant wrote on its blog.

“Searching across multiple reservation platforms and websites, it will find real-time availability for restaurants that meet your specific needs — and then present you with a curated list of restaurants with available reservation slots to choose from. AI Mode does the legwork and links you directly to the booking page, so you can easily take the last step and finalize your reservation.”

In addition, Google says it is adding more personalization features, letting American users who are taking part in the AI Mode experiment in Google Labs will see results tailored to their preferences and interests.

If someone searched “I only have an hour, need a quick lunch spot, any suggestions?” AI Mode can use their past conversations, along with places they’ve searched for, to deliver options.

Already available in the U.S., India and the U.K., Google said it is expanding the AI search experience to more than 180 new countries and territories in English.

“Now, even more people can ask nuanced, complex questions, while continuing to discover the richness of the web. We look forward to expanding access to even more languages and regions soon,” Google added.

The announcement came one day after Google said it was replacing its nearly decade-old Google Assistant with a chatbot that is smarter and more intuitive, operating on the company’s most advanced AI model, Gemini.

Gemini for Home will replace Google Assistant for home devices, with early access starting in October, Anish Kattukaran, chief product officer at Google Home and Nest, wrote in a post on the company blog.

“You still say ‘Hey Google’ to get started, but your interactions will feel fundamentally new,” the post said. “Gemini will understand the context and get it done, and we’re replacing rigid commands so you can use more nuanced or complex requests, too.”